The 1991 RMN Deployment to Australia & New Zealand
By Veteran Hj. Zulheimy Ma'amor (Ex-Crew KD Lekir)
10 June 2026
Vessels: KD Lekir & KD Mahawangsa
Mission: RNZN 50th Anniversary & International Royal Fleet Review
Reference Log:
- Lumut → Darwin—outbound across South China Sea / Java Sea
- Darwin → Cairns—Timor Sea / Arafura Sea, entering Great Barrier Reef
- Cairns → Sydney—Coral Sea/Tasman Sea down the east coast
- Sydney → Auckland → Wellington—Tasman Sea to NZ for the 1991 International Fleet Review
- Wellington → Adelaide → Perth—across the bottom, your Great Australian Bight photos
- Perth → Surabaya—Indian Ocean return
- Surabaya → Singapore → Lumut — home stretch
In September 1991, KD Lekir and KD Mahawangsa left Lumut for one of RMN's longest blue-water voyages to date—7 seas, from the Jave Sea to the Great Australian Bight—to represent Malaysia at the Royal New Zealand Navy 50th Anniversary. This was more than a voyage—it was a mission to "show colors" across the Pacific.
Part 1: The Australian Leg (September 1991)
The voyage began from Lumut, making key strategic stops along the Australian coast before reaching New Zealand. Each port left a lasting memory.
Stop 1: Darwin, Northern Territory
Our first stop was Darwin, where we stepped into scorching heat. The crew was given special permission to wear casual civilian clothes while on liberty due to the intense weather. I later learned that the port was named in 1839 after Charles Darwin by the captain of the HMS Beagle.
Darwin is the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory, on the Timor Sea at the very top of Australia.
Stop 2: Cairns, Queensland
Cairns was an adventure. We visited the stunning 100-acre Kuranda Rainforest Park and Mossman Gorge. A few brave crew members from KD Lekir actually stepped up and took the terrifying plunge at a local bungee jumping site.
LK1 KMR Anor from KD Lekir taking on a 50-meter bungy jump at Kuranda Parks, Cairns, Australia.
Mossman Gorge is the southern gateway to the Daintree Rainforest National Park, about 75 km north of Cairns and 5 km west of Mossman town. It was a popular stop for visiting sailors and adventure training.
This is a wallaby, not a kangaroo, which is very common around Cairns, Mossman Gorge, and Darwin. The quick difference between kangaroos and wallabies is that kangaroos are larger and wallabies are smaller, with different teeth and shorter legs.
Kuranda Parks is located at McGregor Road, Smithfield, QLD 4878, with 7 acres of rainforest at the foot of the Kuranda Range, about 20 minutes north of Cairns CBD and about 15 minutes south of Kuranda Village itself.
HMAS CAIRNS
What I will never forget is the naval camaraderie—we were hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the HMAS Cairns base Junior Rates Club, where we mingled with Australian sailors.
HMAS Cairns is the Royal Australian Navy base located at Draper Street, Port Smith, on the northern shore of Trinity Inlet, Cairns, Queensland.
Established in 1971 as a noncommissioned patrol boat facility at Grafton Street, Trinity Wharf supported three Attack Class Patrol Boats, commissioned as a naval establishment on 1 February 1974.
Stop 3: Sydney, New South Wales - September 1991
Arriving in Sydney, we explored the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge wearing our custom-ordered black cruise jackets.
Sydney is the capital of New South Wales and Australia's largest city. The main naval presence is HMAS Kuttabul and Garden Island.
Malaysian Sailors @ Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW
The most popular landmarks of Sydney are the Opera House (opened 1973) and the Harbour Bridge (1932). The Rock and Bondi Beach, all within walking distance from the naval wharves.
The most touching encounter was meeting a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) veteran who had served at RAAF Butterworth in Penang during the 1970s. His Malaysian-Chinese wife was so thrilled to see fellow Malaysians after 25 years in Sydney that they treated us to a halal Malaysian dinner—a taste of home so far away.
The 1991 long-distance deployment of KD Lekir and KD Mahawangsa, through the Great Barrier Reef on the way to Auckland, New Zealand, for the RNZN 50th Anniversary. It was one of the RMN's most challenging early blue-water voyages. The crew safely navigated 7 major waters—the Jave Sea, Timor Sea, Arafura Sea, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Great Australian Bight, and the Indian Ocean.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, spanning over 2,300 km off the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, in the Coral Sea. Composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands covering an area of approximately 344,400 sq km. It is the biggest single structure on Earth made by living organisms and can even be seen from outer space.
Part 2: The New Zealand Fleet Review (October 1991)
Stop 4: Auckland (Devonport Naval Base)
This was the main event. KD Lekir and KD Mahawangsa joined a massive gathering of 35 warships from 9 nations, including Canada, Singapore, Australia, and various Pacific island nations.
The review was officially launched by Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard. 70 proud RMN officers and crew marched through Queen Street as mini-ambassadors for Malaysia.
We visited HMNZS Philomel and the training base HMNZS Tamaki. We also made lifelong friends with local Kiwi sailors—our "3 Sahabat" who helped us navigate the city.
Three RNZN friends who took us for a walk around Auckland... thank you guys!!
Malaysia's Newspaper Cutting—1991
HMNZS TAMAKI
Genuine history from the last years of HMNZS Tamaki as a separate base. In 1991, during our visit, HMNZS Tamaki was still at Fort Cautley, Narrow Neck, on Auckland's North Shore. It was the RNZN's trades and technical training base.
In 1993, the Basic Common Trainees were moved from HMNZS Tamaki to HMNZS Philomel. HMNZS Tamaki ceased to exist by November 2000.
HMNZS PHILOMEL
The sign says "Home of The Navy"—"Te Kainga O Te Taua Moana O Aotearoa"—in front of the twin 4.5-inch guns of HMNZS Achilles—that fought at the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939.
HMNZS Philomel, located at Devonport Naval Base, is the main RNZN Logistics and Training Base.
SHIP OPEN TO VISITORS
The ship is open to visitors for tours while docked in Auckland. KD Lekir and KD Mahawangsa had just come from Sydney, Australia, before sailing on to Auckland for the review and the 50th Anniversary Charter Parade.
Visitors are coming aboard for open day.
The Maori in their performance dress, which most visitors to Auckland would have seen in the 90s. The Maori are the Polynesian people who settled in New Zealand between 1200 and 1300 CE, coming by waka (canoe) from eastern Polynesia. They are tangata whenua—people of the land.
Stop 5: Port of Wellington
On transit to Wellington, we participated in the AUCKEX 1/91 joint naval exercise alongside Canada's HMCS Yukon. Sailing past White Island, we were given a rare, mesmerizing view of an active marine volcano—Whakaari in the Bay of Plenty.
Whakaari / White Island volcano, a 16 x 18 km submarine volcano, 50 km offshore of North Island in the Bay of Plenty.
Something rare that does not exist in our country, Malaysia, will definitely attract the cres's interest, such as a volcano.
The big white plume behind me in October 1991 is that May 91/Wade phase—ash and steam driven, not lava, which is why the island was still approachable by boat at the time. Today the volcano is closely monitored after the fatal 2019 eruption.
Commanding Office of KD Lekir, Capt. Noor Azman Hj Othman (Left). He was promoted to Captain RMN during this voyage.
WELLINGTON
After a few days in Auckland, participating in the 50th Anniversary of RNZN, Wellington was our second port of call in New Zealand after Auckland.
The capital city, second most populous after Auckland, located between Cook Straits and the Rimutaka Range, is named after Arthur Wellington, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Part 3: The Journey Home & Farewell
We left Wellington after a few days for Adelaide, Perth, and Surabaya before returning to Lumut.
Return Route: Wellington > Adelaide > Perth (Fremantle) > Surabaya (Indonesia) > Lumut, Malaysia.
The Great Australian Bight
We crossed the Great Australian Bight—situated along the central and western parts of Australia's Southern Coastline. It forms a massive, open oceanic bay that officially stretches across the Southern Ocean from Cape Pasley in Western Australia to Cape Carnot on the Eyre Peninsula. It is famously one of the roughest and most treacherous marine environments in the world—a sailor's nightmare.
In contrast, the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea gave us calm, lake-like turquoise waters because thousands of individual coral reefs block the incoming Pacific swells.
Stop 6: ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
We arrived in Adelaide after several days of sea travel from Wellington, N.Z.
Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million people. The city of Adelaide is located approximately 20 km from the shores of Gulf St Vincent, north of the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Plains.
The name Adelaide is said to be derived from the name of Queen Adelaide, the German-born wife of King William IV. The city was founded in 1836. Colonel William Light (son of Captain Francis Light) was the founder of the city of Adelaide.
From Adelaide the next ship voyage is to Fremantle Port in Perth, Australia.
Stop 7: Fremantle, Perth, Australia
Perth is the capital of Western Australia. It is the 4th most populous city in Australia, with a population of around 1.4 million people.
The city of Perth was founded by Captain James Stirling in 1829 and was the administrative center of the Swan River Colony.
In Fremantle, Perth, the KD Lekir brass band gave a special performance at the Harboursite Hotel, located near the Port of Fremantle.
Something quite interesting: while in Perth, I met an Australian Malay from Cocos Island (Keeling). The Cocos Malays are originally from Malaysia/Indonesia and were brought to the Cocos Islands generations ago, and many later moved to mainland Australia.
They still speak a Malay dialect very close to ours. This was during Ship open to visitors, where she came along with friends. It really captures that era of RMN goodwill visits.
Stop 8: Surabaya, Indonesia
KD Lekir and KD Mahawangsa concluded their tour of Australia and New Zealand with the city of Perth as their final stop. The ship continued its voyage back to Malaysia from Perth, Australia, and stopped in Surabaya, Indonesia, before continuing its voyage to Lumut, Perak...
Upon returning safely to the Lumut Naval Base, I received transfer orders to SKTLDM Kuantan, bringing an emotional end to my unforgettable journey aboard the legendary KD Lekir.
Hj Zulheimy Maamor
(Ex-crew KD Lekir: 1989-1991)
11 September 2026: 2.23 a.m.
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